Friday, June 12, 2015

Televisions, computers, smart
phones, laptops, note books, IPods, IPads, Netflix, social media, Skype, DVD’s,
DVR’s all to make life easier, more efficient, more organized and more in
contact with everyone and everything, right? Got to get to work, to church, to
kids sports events, run here, run there- never stop, text message got to stay
in touch every second, every day, right? So with all this technology that makes
everything you do faster and easier why is there such a disconnect in being
connected? Instead of using our devices as a tool to speed up our work and our
personal lives like it could, we have made electronics our life and our
entertainment. You know our culture has changed when you’d rather text a person
then call them or even worse, text them when they are in the next room from you.Even worse than that, argue with them,
criticize them or slander them via text or email or social media when you’d
never sit them down, look them in the eye and tell them that same information.
With all of this said, I’d like to introduce the Front Porch Communications
Network. It is where, we the people (politicians too) talk through issues face
to face with the intent of establishing a middle ground, a compromise. In family
life, in the work place and in politics, solutions are established “for the
people and about the people”. It is the place families meet in the evening and
sit and talk and look at each other and enjoy the birds chirping and the
crickets scraping their legs together and the smell of the air and the feel of
the breeze with the sun sinking low and falling into darkness. You can argue
and look at each other while you are doing it. You can talk of days gone by and
tell funny stories about what each other did once upon a time. You can pray,
you can talk about science and history and math. You can talk about the future
and you can love one another and feel bonded by your closeness. I think one of
the reasons we are not working out differences in opinions in politics and in
our home lives has to do with the way we communicate. Instead of looking at
each other face to face and talking through our issues with the intent of
reaching some compromise we are communicating our beliefs electronically and in
the case of politicians via radio or television. The problem with this system
is it distributes the opinion but does not offer a discussion of opposing
viewpoints and once spoken to the world in the media the opinion becomes locked
in and compromise becomes an ego issue. The opposing viewpoints are then
distributed on TV and radio too and no real discussion has taken place between
the parties involved. Compromise is worked out through joint efforts between
people talking to each other and working with each other with the intent to
find a viable solution that everyone can agree upon, or live with.

When I was a kid, friends and I
played outside till dark in the summer. No thought of staying inside. At that
time the only thing on TV during the summer were reruns from the same year. At
that point we had CBS, NBC and ABC.There were no choices for shows being produced and viewed as new
episodes throughout the year, like now. None the less our culture was to be
outside in the evening and our parents were too. All of the adults were sitting
on their front porches. We would walk the neighborhood. There were sidewalks
and you’d drop in on people on their porches. If you wanted to talk, there was
no need to call them, just walk to their house and they’d most likely be on the
porch which was very communal. It was a way of life and no one was looking for
privacy while on the front porch. They were relaxing, feeling the pleasant
evening air and talking with neighbors and friends, in person. I can still hear
my relatives arguing with each other on the front porch about politics,
children and social opinion. They would tell each other how wrong they were,
but in those conversations they always had some form of resolution to the issue
and invariably someone else would say, well that might work. I think we’d get
along better and accomplish more if we’d spend a little more time using the Front
Porch Communication Network and less time alone reading and watching other
people’s opinion with no discussion. In a world that has a format for everyone’s
opinion to be heard and accuracy of detail or correctness of information is not
required we need to step back a little and do some face to face time.

About Me

Lookout Mountain Alabama & DeKalb County are full of many delightful surprises, all waiting to be discovered. It is a place to enjoy the sights and sounds of all four seasons. Springtime brings a renewal to the mountainous terrain as first the Redbud and Dogwood announce their arrival in a showy display of purple and white flowers. Then the hills come to life with blooms of pink and fuschia colored Rhododendron. Mountain Laurel and Wild Azalea blossoms adorn her side. Summer brings children squealing with delight as they frolic and play at the many summer camps in Mentone. Autumn on Lookout Mountain is gloriously adorned in her beautiful array of fall colors. Scenic drives beckon you along the Lookout Mountain Parkway, through Desoto State Park & Little River Canyon & across Sand Mountain to DeKalb County Public Fishing Lake, High Falls Park & Buck's Pocket State Park. Winter drifts in as downtown shoppers get ready for Christmas and the novice and those eager to learn hone their skills at Cloudmont Ski & Golf Resort. Beautiful scenery is yours to enjoy as you visit the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in DeKalb County, Alabama.